Pack unable to dent Fort Lewis in RMAC quarterfinal

DURANGO, Colo. - In dreary conditions in Durango Wednesday, the ThunderWolves faced a tough Fort Lewis squad in the RMAC quarterfinal match, and had a tough time making numerous quality chances, falling 1-0 to homestanding Skyhawks.

As the first winter storm of the season began to make its way through Colorado's Four Corners area, the ThunderWolves, qualifying for the six-team RMAC Tournament as the fifth seed, were looking forward to fighting through the snow and taking one away from the Skyhawks.  A scrappy team, the Pack saw nasty weather as an advantage, but it was Fort Lewis that was the first beneficiary of the conditions.

The Skyhawks' one and only goal came early, with a shot by Lorin Andersen cutting through the Pack defense that momentarily lost its footing, giving Fort Lewis a big advantage in a defensive game.

"The conditions had both teams skidding around defensively," Pack coach Dave Morris said.  "It certainly impacted us on their goal, but I thought for the most part, we held our footing well throughout the day and we did a better job braving the conditions."

But instead of rolling over, the ThunderWolves dug deep and made the rest of the day difficult for the Skyhawks.

The Pack kept a number of balls out of their own defensive end, but had issues creating enough quality chances on Fort Lewis' side of the field to eliminate the Skyhawks' lead.

"We had a couple of opportunities," Morris said, "but unfortunately we didn't take them.  We have ourselves chanced to get into this game, but I'm very proud of how we didn't get discouraged and kept fighting the whole way."

The Pack's biggest opportunity was from Candice Duffy (Jr., Idaho Falls, Idaho), who managed to get behind Fort Lewis defenders in the 67th minute, and had an open net look which she shot wide.

The ThunderWolves got another quality look from free-kicker extraordinaire, Marli Martin (Sr., West Jordan, Utah), who sent a quality ball right over the crossbar.  A couple of inches lower, and it would have went by keeper Christine Schmelzle and into the goal.

But with opportunities unseized, the Pack's season ultimately ended with a 9-8-2 mark, the Pack's second straight winning season and fourth straight season ending with an RMAC playoff berth.  Morris said that in keeping with the personality of this team, they went down swinging.

"We had a tough start to the game, but we stood up like we had so many times when things went badly, and made it hard for them," Morris said.  "Ultimately, it's dissapointing, but we were able to compete at a high level today."